The present invention relates to finishing graphic containers. More specifically, several aspects of the invention are directed toward methods and apparatus for forming folded containers with or without thin film coverings.
Containers, such as cartons and boxes for a variety of uses, are generally made from paper products or other types of materials. The containers are typically folded and glued so that they can be shipped to a product manufacturer in a flat configuration and then expanded to receive a product. Several types of containers have openings covered by thin transparent films to create windows (e.g., toy containers) or access openings (e.g., tissue boxes), but other types of containers are solid and do not have thin transparent films. In either application, a container xe2x80x9cblankxe2x80x9d is formed from a sheet with graphics and/or text by stamping the sheet to (a) cut the sheet into a desired pattern and (b) form fold lines on the sheet. The blanks are then subject to a finishing process to attach a thin transparent film to window openings, apply glue to selected areas of the blank, and fold the blank into a finished container.
Conventional processes for finishing graphic containers with transparent films use a window patch machine for attaching the film to the blank and a separate fold/glue machine for folding and gluing flaps or panels of the blank. Conventional window patch machines have a feeder, a timed-chain carrier for transporting blanks from the feeder, a pattern glue applicator synchronized with the timed-chain carrier, and a film applicator synchronized with the pattern glue applicator. Conventional window patch machines are initially configured to accommodate a particular blank, and then all of the blanks for a particular container are processed through the window patch machine to attach the transparent film to the blanks. The blanks to which the transparent film patches have been attached are then stored at a separate location to await processing through the fold/glue machine.
The fold/glue machine typically has another feeder, a plurality of belt drives, a plurality of fold panels, and a plurality of glue guns. The fold/glue machine has a pre-folding section, a back-folding section, and a final-folding section that each have a different configuration of belt-drives, glue guns, and fold plates for folding and gluing the flaps and/or panels of the blanks. The conventional window patch machines and conventional fold/glue machines accordingly operate completely independent from one another because they are separate machines that use separate feeders and separate transport systems to feed and convey blanks through each of the machines.
One concern of finishing graphic containers with transparent films is that conventional processes require two runs to produce a single finished container. It is time-consuming to use two separate runs because the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines must be configured separately before running the blanks through the machines. After processing the blanks through the window patch machine, the blanks are also manually transported and loaded into a separate feeder for processing through the fold/glue machines. Additionally, if both the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines are operated simultaneously, conventional processes generally require two operators to configure and operate the two separate machines. Therefore, conventional processes for finishing graphic containers with separate window patch machines and fold/glue machines are time consuming and inefficient.
Another manufacturing concern of conventional processes for finishing graphic containers is that they require a significant amount of floor space. Because the window patch machines and the fold/glue machines are separate from one another, the blanks are stored in separate stacks to await processing the separate window patch and fold/glue machines. The window patch and fold/glue machines must also have individual feeders dedicated to each machine. As a result, a significant amount of floor space is occupied by the additional stacks of blanks and the duplicity of feeders for the separate window patch and fold/glue machines.